The most interesting team in the world right now

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Xabi Alonso, as a player, was part of the greatest Spain national team of all time, he played under Mourinho at Real Madrid and Guardiola at Bayern Munich. So it stands to reason that he learnt a thing or two about coaching.
Now he is imparting his knowledge on Bayer Leverkusen. As manager, he took them out of the relegation zone last season, and this season has made them the most interesting team in the world right now.
Jon Mackenzie explains why.
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#Bundesliga #Bayer04 #BayerLeverkusen

[@castielchieng7475]

Xabi had hell of a playing career considering who he played under before and now we see the experience blooms

[@lindilebangose7667]

There's a clip where Mourinho stated that Xabi is likely to be a good coach because of the people he played under and his father being a coach. He could be another proper coach in the near future.

[@-AxisA-]

​@@lindilebangose7667 Not he could be, but he will be

[@lindilebangose7667]

@@-AxisA- nothing but death is certain in this life.

[@-AxisA-]

@@lindilebangose7667 He will almost certainly become a great manager

[@dragdritt]

@@lindilebangose7667 and taxes

[@km3455]

These tactical breakdowns are amazing. Do one on Fernando Diniz if you guys haven’t yet.

[@stevedomique9278]

This stuff is so weird to me, one coach gets a bajillion breakdowns and awareness. And instead of thinking, "Wow that's interesting! I'd love to see more of other interesting coaches and tactical styles." People just want to see different versions from different channels of the exact same video. It's the same with game reviews and so many other things I watch and I just don't get it. Like sure you might get a couple of new tidbits, but on the whole it's just going to be a different guy saying very similar things.

[@entoney20]

To be honest, I thought this video was going to be about Diniz when I saw the title!

[@maurocorreia8081]

@@stevedomique9278 what is the problem with giving a more unknown team and league recognition fo their tatics?

[@Beanskiiii]

@@maurocorreia8081 Bro it's only two games into the season and they're already comparing this season to last season. Super cringe

[@iv0rysh0es39]

@@entoney20I thought so as well, given the thumbnail image.

[@explosivereactionstv7414]

Anytime you have a mix of experienced players like Xhaka, Tah and Hoffmann mixed with young stars such as Wirtz and Boniface then good things will happen

[@maciejbala477]

agreed. There just seems to be something about this kind of balance between experience and youth which works. Good teams usually get it right

[@Ja-zx4mb]

Xhaka and Hofmann are quality

[@michaelfellner9822]

lets not overreact tho. its a team success and leverkusen are doing a great job as a team, the players in the squad are suited for their playing style so manager did a great job too .. in the team there arent a lot of players who could make it everywhere tho. frimpong is better offensively then he is defensively, tah has been inconsistant forever etc. grimaldo is great, wirtz one of the biggest talents in europe.

[@battistoberhoel8839]

@@michaelfellner9822 there aren't a lot of players of players who could make it everywhere? is that why nearly every Leverkusen player is being affiliated with other clubs? Like seriously the only players I haven't heard multiple rumours about are Hradecky, Hofmann and Xhake, because they are all over 30.

[@EmFi7]

Love the fact that Leverkussen was my first thought. They have such a fun & interesting team with an 11 of players of which 8-9 i adore watching. So intrigued to see what they can do this year This video had to be Brighton or Leverkussen, but i'm glad it's them

[@miguelporras8366]

Xhaka's role is crucial. He is very similar to Alonso as a player, great long passing, also a great pace-setter and great long shooting skills. His overload of the central areas reminds a lot of the Spanish national team. Hoffman reminds me a lot of last season Edin Dzeko, a playmaker who likes to release his teammates on space. Those intrincate combinations with Frimpong seem a deadly weapon

[@retiredrebel]

What will Xabi do when Xhaka is injured? Long term recovery kind of injury? Next phase in Leverkusen’s evolution is bench depth, that is if they are not a selling team. Dortmund is a selling team

[@MrCrockaG]

@@retiredrebel While you're right in your overall point, Xhaka isn't the player to pick out for that. He's an ironman of a player.

[@clinewb]

​ Xhaka doesn't get injured mate. 😂 Man is a tank.

[@babamama1099]

@@retiredrebelThey would still have Andrich who is a great CDM especially against the ball. Palacios would then probably have more responsibilities in the build-up play.

[@LilAnchovy.3072]

@@retiredrebel I think the Bayer 04 bench is already better than last year... With an injury-prone Aranguiz and an often disappointing Demirbay no longer in the squad, they now have a player like Andrich, newly called up national team player, who was a crucial part of last years great Europa League run and the (at least after Alonso's takeover) consistent Bundesliga campaign. So to have him as the first backup option now is an improvement. A player of great abilities against the ball, who has also stood the test of playing the somewhat old-fashioned "sweeper" position in the back three. They've added some talent to the team in Noah Mbamba and Gustavo Puerta, of course without any playing time as of yet, but will be able to learn a lot from Xhaka during training. In general I would say the team has more squad depth, or at least the backups have gotten better: - Loaning out Azmoun (who never really clicked with the team) to Roma and filling his spot in the team with Boniface was a great move, he will be fierce competition to Schick once he returns from injury - Signing a young talented wing-back, Arthur Augusto (currently injured, but a possible replacement for Frimpong when he's gonna get transferred) - Getting a promising keeper in Matej Kovar from Man. United (already playing Europa League matches, possible new No. 1, come next season) - Taking some weight of the shoulders of young talents such as Adli or Hlozek by signing Hofmann, also adding Tella into the mix - Signing Stanisic on a loan to give more flexibility at the back end, possible centre-back backup or right fullback in a 4-in-the-back system, also weakening Bayern Munich's squad depth I also think that most of the players they've signed this season aren't neccessarily candidates for a move to a bigger club in the near future: Xhaka, Hofmann & Grimaldo are all experienced players, in the very near future i would only see Wirtz, Frimpong and Boniface as possible transfers that could hurt the quality of the team. And they've extended with Palacios, Frimpong and Tapsoba to ensure that every player from the starting 11 (apart from Tah) is bound to the team beyond 2025, ensuring significant earnings if they decide to sell. The last few transfer windows have already shown that Bayer 04 wants to graduate from the "selling-team" status, this is clearly a "win-now" team.

[@davinator5167]

Knew this was about Leverkusen the moment I saw the title. Boniface and Wirtz are incredible by the way. Boniface kind of looks like Haaland in his first BL games.

[@Chip_Fuse]

💀

[@sudjen]

?? @@Chip_Fuse He is right. Im a dortmund fan and bonficae feels exactly like haaland in the first few games. Feels like an unstopable force of nature

[@Flynnly]

Boniface is so good it's insane

[@alecanci]

100% agree, he just seems like he’s on another level physically, just like Oshimen

[@maciejbala477]

@@alecanci he even looks a bit like Osimhen (same haircut) and is Nigerian too haha

[@snoopcane4422]

The impact of Florian Wirtz is not to be underestimated when it comes to their higher passing numbers i‘m watching Leverkusen and Germany games frequently and since he came back from his ACL(!!) he completely transformed Leverkusens play

[@equilibriajorvingia9705]

if only he could provide his club form to his international form

[@snoopcane4422]

@@equilibriajorvingia9705 he absolutely did against france and in the first half against japan too and in the games before he‘s been a silver lining in the team

[@thatracingguy5694]

Wirtz is underrated asf. Probably Top 3 young midfielders in the world.

[@RL-]

He's incredible. Idk why his shot volume is so low because he's been really clinical as a midfielder considering his average shot distance over the years, but maybe he enjoys passing too much. That's not really a problem when, in not even three complete seasons, your key pass, pass into final third, pass into box and progressive pass rates have quadrupled to become world leading 😅

[@ThichNhatHanh23]

The reason why lev is back is because of wirtz, they played UCL with him and immediately got a win streak when he was back from his injury

[@maciejbala477]

Reminds me of my own tactic in FM actually in some ways. Tempo set to the highest possible but also "work the ball into the box" turned on, and directness kept at standard. Meaning there's actually a lot of these kind of "third man" fast passing sequences through the middle, but we also score a ton of goals on the break. Through the middle or also through crosses. Feels like the best of both worlds

[@anonymouseX942]

Hey, fellow FM player here, I was wondering how to replicate this system in FM while watching the video and came across your comment, would you mind elaborating a bit more on your shape in and out of possession and the TIs that you use? I'd love to get this combination of styles of play that you mention here

[@MrAvaricia]

​@@anonymouseX942You have to have players in positions that allow them to roam like Advanced Forward, Shadow Striker, Carrilero. Essentially look at your formation as the starting position in recovery, and due to the given instructions picture how will players move. For example a Mezzala will end his movement at the corner of the box, and if that side of the pitch has a False Nine, they will drop from a similar position to that, so the F9 draws the center back with him and the mezzala would run into a free space (maybe) chased by a defensive midfielder. Generate a few of those synergies and goals will happen simply because defending players will be unable to pick those runs, which is what happens here, if the opposing team is marking zonally all this roaming forces the defenders to be constantly deciding who follows who

[@Metody89]

Well, I'm from the future, they're really amazing. Good shout out before anybody can see it

[@rsl-im3dq]

If you're coached by Mourinho and Pep , you know you'll be a great manager

[@apt9238]

Can’t wait to see what Ibrahimovic will do in management

[@thierryhenry674]

How tactically sophisticated is Mourinho? The best managers are mostly deep lying playmaker or central defenders. Because they see more of the pitch and control the team’s build up. Ibrahimovic is not that. Ibrahimovic didn’t like Pep, he probably didn’t buy into his philosophies.

[@shadmankabir5916]

add anchelotti to that list too Alonso has all the experience to literally be the best of all worlds

[@thierryhenry674]

@@shadmankabir5916 In an interview, Ancelotti admitted that he doesn’t do much tactics.

[@sadafhusain2059]

​@@thierryhenry674tactics is just one part of management

[@T.E.S.S.]

Alonso is what everyone told us Gerrard was going to be

[@lucioledizerot196]

I'm a Liverpool fan, and will always adore Gerrard as a player, but to be very honest, he doesn't seem that smart outside of the game

[@T.E.S.S.]

@@lucioledizerot196 Same.

[@chicocannon]

Who's everyone I heard of very few people who thought Gerrard would be a world class manager. Or at least was telling people he would be.

[@princeetu8831]

Gerrard was pretty good at Rangers though.

[@lucioledizerot196]

@@princeetu8831 who isn't good at Rangers tbf

[@yallahyallah4220]

well i knew it was either Brighton or Leverkusen and just about every person in Germany interested in football is really looking forward to friday evening when they face off FC Bayern and alot of people are convinced they'll beat em cause they play better football in a better system.

[@puskas_baller]

i expected spurs tbh

[@davidcochrane6122]

I was expecting angeball too

[@mikewilliams101]

I also thought it would be Brighton or Leverkusen. Hipsters choice

[@yallahyallah4220]

good shout for upcoming weeks/months, but Ange Postecoglou ain't long enough at Tottenham yet. His team still needs to continue validating the manager's influence over a longer period of time, imho at least six months @@puskas_baller

[@kylesosa3562]

Managed to hold Bayern😂

[@juang8360]

I love how Leverkusen are playing right now. That team is a well oiled machine. Plus, they have the best jersey in Europe this season ❤

[@chradikaali]

Interesting. I see a lot of similarities to that Del Bosque's Spain that won the World Cup in 2010 (and EUROs in 2012). Hofmann and Wirtz play the roles of Iniesta and Xavi and the team essentially have 4 technically gifted central midfielders like that Spanish side (Alonso, Busqets, Xavi, and Iniesta vs. Xhaka, Palacios, Hofmann, and Wirtz). The Alba-Iniesta pair is given by Grimaldo-Wirtz. Grimaldo, obviously, the less attacking wingback but still someone who can offer plenty of width and some attacking outputs. Frimbong-Hofmann pair seem more like the Xavi-Pedro pair. In 2010, Del Bosque still favorited traditional 9 in David Villa or Fernando Torres. In EURO 2012, his tactics got even wilder when he dropped the 9 and played with the 4-6-0 formation, i.e. essentially 6 technically gifted central midfielders up front (Alonso, Busqets, Xavi, Iniesta, Fabregas, and David Silva). We'll see whether Alonso tries something similar at some point. At the moment, it seems that Boniface and Frimbong are just too good to even consider something like that.

[@vmofficial9]

This aged extremely well. Leverkusen are now 5 points clear of Bayern after beating them 3-0, and are STILL undefeated after 31 matches.

[@fbi578]

And even better now (I suppose that's kind of how the passing of time works when you don't lose)!

[@AliMuhammad-vo3cz]

Won the league with 5 games to spear, 44 matches unbeaten in all comp, dfb pokal finalist, europa semifinalist, and a chance to win the league with most points in history, and unbeaten for the first time

[@ryanilyas7656]

Finally some recognition, forza bayer🦁, this should be our season, somehow, hopefully

[@DS-bz4mz]

Take good care of Xhaka please 🥺

[@BomermanRules]

Comgrats

[@Ja-zx4mb]

I feel like Jonas Hofmann is heavily underrated.

[@danisbeast91]

Small claim to fame I sat next to Nathan Tella in Chemistry classes in school and was in the same school football team. Now I'm watching him in a Tifo tactics video, mad

[@DavidSmith-gq3mv]

I know the feeling. Raheem Stirling was in the year below me in my school. Always saw him playing football in the playground.

[@CharlesOffdensen]

I thought you were going to talk about Fluminense. As for Leverkusen - their transfer budget is at roughly zero. While Dortmund and RB Leipzig have spend 80 million less than what they have received for outgoing transfers. Based on that alone I have expected Leverkusen to get closer to Dortmund and Leipzig. These two just didn't replace the players that left (especially Dortmund, Leipzig got some players on loan, that's why their budget is so good). Leverkusen now look even better than I thought. Hofmann is used to play wide, he just lacks speed. Other than that, he is very good.

[@davinator5167]

yh and their business was incredibly smart, Boniface was a steal for 20m, he already looks like a future world class striker, Grimaldo has been one of the best LBs itw in the last years imo and they got him for free, Xhaka and Hofmann also weren't expensive and give them a lot of experience in crucial positions

[@agostinho6550]

@@davinator5167 grimaldo "free" apart from his salary and huge signing bonus

[@corpse6193]

@@agostinho6550 Which they would have to pay regardless...

[@ayobabes]

nah leipzig always replaces stars w young talents. it’s a risk but after MD3 u can see that it’s working pretty well. As for BVB, i’m doubting whether they can even make Top 4, w Bayern, leverkusen, union and leipzig.

[@CharlesOffdensen]

@@ayobabes Yes, you are right about Leipzig, but this year, the only real talent there is Xavi Simons and he is on loan. Leipzig are not getting better, at least. While Leverkusen are improving. Dortmund are getting worse, unfortunately. You are correct about this part, too. I am a BVB fan, and I don't think we are going to get to top 4 either.

[@resurrectionist1]

As a Liverpool fan, seeing Xabi Alonso doing well in management brings a smile to my face. I just hope he doesn't do a Gerrard and go to the wrong team and bungle his career and wind up in Saudi

[@davidhayden3849]

Amen to that YNWA

[@retiredrebel]

Gerrard the great player that he was, never even imagined that a player could one day be offered a $Billion contract. Let the man make his money, no shame in that. Europe took so many players from African, Asian, & Latino Leagues. Now Europe is upset about a few retired players moving to the new China League.

[@_DioBrando_]

Xabi was coached by Benitez, Mourinho, Ancelotti and Guardiola. There is no doubt in my mind that he's drawing on his experiences with all of them. Seems pretty obvious to me that he'll be Madrid's next manager.

[@dave_m98]

No way he will be Liverpool's next manager

[@davinator5167]

Benitez really sticks out as the odd one in that list :D but yh I agree

[@chradikaali]

These tactics are more similar to Del Bosque’s Spain 2010, where Alonso played a big part, than tactics of those four but certainly he has learned a lot from them as well, and would definitely suit Real Madrid. Del Bosque was also one of the greatest managers of Real Madrid even though he didn't always get the recognition he deserved. His sacking in 2003 ended the successful start of the first Galácticos era.

[@_DioBrando_]

@@chradikaali great point

[@mro9608]

​@davinator5167 Benitez was a brilliant tactician. His Valencia side that won 2 la Liga titles and a Uefa Cup were great.

[@thierryhenry674]

Alonso has learnt a lot from Pep at Bayern. He brought Xhaka to Leverkusen because Xhaka understands the Pep way of playing through Arteta.

[@weird7106]

underrated comment

[@wahousekey]

All these retired players who played under Guardiola are going on to dominate as younger, less experienced managers

[@vidalgutierrez9542]

They literally don’t play like arsenal lol watch some games

[@vidalgutierrez9542]

@@wahousekey you give pep too much credit

[@thierryhenry674]

@@vidalgutierrez9542 It’s about being able to micromanage the positioning and movements of players in different phases, the principles and philosophies.

[@thalenteblessing6581]

Liverpool fans where are you

[@neildylanyoung]

Welcome to Liverpool, Xabi

[@kingkenzokwansa]

Xhaka is absolutely balling in Bundesliga this season. Best midfield regista in world football right now! Mikel unlocked him, pushed him to start his coaching badges as well then passed him to his close pal Xabi. Xhaka will become a world class manager when he hangs up his boots

[@heinzii7834]

That's right they grew up together didn't they.

[@MickDarcy]

"Mikel unlocked him, pushed him to start his coaching badges as well then passed him to his close pal Xabi" Who told you that, Juklian off AFTV?

[@kingkenzokwansa]

@@heinzii7834 yes both are from the San Sebastian in Basque country! They grew up together went same school since primary.

[@kingkenzokwansa]

@@MickDarcy you should watch the series where Xhaka Elneny and Cédric are followed by cameras during their coaching courses! It was aired on Now TV

[@nikonfv]

Lobotka the best regista itw he transformed Napoli to title winners

[@Abelllaaa]

I’d love to see you guys do an episode on Fernando Diniz if you haven’t already. His tactics are unlike we’ve seen before

[@fbi578]

This video has aged like a fine wine

[@TaskForce_911]

There's a famous Pep saying ‘The faster the ball moves forward, the faster it comes back the other way.’ And this is what Bayer Leverkusen's coach Xabi Alonso has worked on. Atleast 20-30 minimum passes is necessary required to finish off a goal in pure style cause if you miss your opponent is going to hit you hard in the transition/Counter especially those teams which prefers to sit down deep in their own half

[@jamesmccreery250]

Does this make Xabi the first to blend positional and relational tactics? I know Flu in Brazil have been using relational tactics to good effect and I had been wondering when it would make it's way to Europe. As soon as I heard of relational tactics, I thought a blend of relational and positional would be the tactics that top clubs would adopt.

[@EdKeen-xe5xd]

This has aged well so far

[@k4yser]

It's actually pretty crazy how Alonso managed to turn Bayer arround. Before he joined they've been in the mud and i was sceptical and thought this move will damage Alonsos career. Boy was i wrong,

[@mickeyjunior7177]

oh man, watching this and i'm just salivating at the thought of alonso at real madrid

[@umuterdonmez6995]

Xabi really understands his players capabilities and he encourages them to become their bestselves, the back shift in his formation is amazing to watch, odilon and frimpong is crazy, they dominate the right side, you'd think that losing diaby would've hurt them but hell no, frimpong was amazing and dependable already but odilon.. man thats manager effect

[@kevinwallace3309]

Update, it’s Nov 22 and they are top of the league w/ 10 wins and 1 draw

[@upliftingspace]

this aged well. prophetic!

[@ranggafahmi8479]

Aged like a fine wine

[@MaximumResultsCopy]

Love these kind of videos. Interesting point about how this would work against more of a low block approach, rather than a press of some kind. I imagine with a low block, there wouldn't be so much of a problem with players getting dragged out of position. Back in the 20/21 season I recall a comment on Tifo about West Ham along the lines that they were playing a slightly weird low block system where they "controlled space". Would be interested if you think that is still the case. Will be keeping an eye on Leverkusen.

[@victoreric4557]

And he trains with them. So much of a leader!

[@ascendedlad1955]

The role of Simon Rolfes should not be undermined, they had an amazing Mercato.

[@davyliciousable]

Xhaka was an absolute beast so far and the braind and heart for leverkusen, watched all their matches and was brillant 2watch

[@nananou1687]

I remember Mourinho saying he has no doubt Alonso will be a great manager, because he was under both him and Pep. Days after, Pep said the same. Two visionaries.

[@shahzadirani]

Alonso has also played under Ancelotti Benitez Heynckes and Del Bosque. So he’s learned all the good and the bad from some of the best managers in the game ever

[@JohnMushitu]

Love the attention Leverkusen and Xabi are getting

[@delerium360]

This aged extremely well.

[@ThePoraon]

Just watched an amazing match Bayern vs Leverkusen including interesting Tuchel vs Alonso battle, first 20 minutes it was all Bayern but Alonso made some very clever changes to press Bayerns build-up better and that made the match very close. Maybe it deserves a video just as you do for PL matches with great managerial changes during first half etc

[@randomshotz13]

The Brighton & Friends Eco-system is really doing interesting things in European football right now B04, BHAFC & USG all bringing interesting styles and methodologies to their respective countries and European competitions

[@chiefnkosi7705]

I agree. Leverkusen and AZ Alkmaar are the 2 most interesting for me since last season.

[@docterarcular]

Thanks for the great depth analysis. Could you maybe do an updated version at some point in the future? I feel like since the making of this video so much has already changed. Imo Grimaldo, Hofmann and Palacios have been the main key to success as of late due to their constancy. The first two are incredibly intelligent and creative in attacks and Palacios' passing and warrior mindset have been decisive in so many situations

[@nicflay]

As a Palace fan, I’ve seen about 10 videos on Oliver Glasner’s Crystal Palace in the last week. I can’t find an up to date video about Bayern L which I find absolutely crazy.

[@hunterxhunter-xs1rw]

It's strange that Xabi Alonso was once a student of Benitez, Ancelotti, Mourino, and Pep, but his coaching style is most similar to Pep. Pep's influence is undeniable

[@thierryhenry674]

Benitez and Mourinho are not sophisticated tacticians. Ancelotti doesn’t even care much about tactics. He said that in an interview.

[@aidangriffiths5075]

​@@thierryhenry674Benítez and mourinho are incredibly detailed and tactical, wtf are you shiting on about 😂

[@gowiuskymarie3302]

pep's only influence is money. His fans always make me laugh, xabi has always been a very intelligent player and not even surprising that he's doing so well as a coach.

[@thierryhenry674]

@@gowiuskymarie3302 You know nothing about tactics.

[@summerlove7779]

​@@aidangriffiths5075Mourinho's tactics are park the bus and counter. There's nothing special about that. That's anti football.

[@Sanginius23]

2 : 2 in Munich. Not bad at all

[@mariodebord7549]

the teambuilding done here is truly sensational

[@mrlimey2419]

Not all great players, coached by great managers become great managers themselves. Gerrard and Lampard spring to mind. Alonso has got it

[@Krissdafish]

Playing under great managers does not make you one yourself. If you however have the potential to be a great, then it certainly helps.

[@projectdesign9218]

His tactic fit for liverpool in the future, he can change to 3-4-3…4-2-4 while attacking..arnold as extra man for attacking

[@bigrandomun9267]

Another game changer for Leverkusen is having Schick available off the bench. Boniface looks like a fantastic player but against certain teams, you need that clinical edge and Schick provides that. Especially against quite quick and agile defenders, Schick is a great option for Alonso because of his ability to keep himself on the defenders shoulder and able to use his strength to win the ball back, hold it up and make the right pass from it. In a 2 up front, Schick would be the perfect counterpart to Boniface, with his ability to hold the ball and use his passing ability to find Boniface making the runs in behind.

[@chiefnkosi7705]

Adam Hlozek, too. Don't forget him

[@Intensive444]

Schick is so underrated. He could have been an option for Bayern too.

[@MegaMatzzz]

Not really a fan of the grey font and white background of the visualizations. Makes it a bit hard to see well

[@bitta3084]

I thought this ws going to be Nice. Hearing interesting things. Any upcoming videos on them?

[@aynunnurnabil3686]

"He was a pretty good professional footballer",the way he talks about one of the greatest midfielders of all time is hillarious.

[@alexhooper8187]

Similar to the mention at the end about how they’ll attack teams who sit back, I’d love to see a similar breakdown after Spurs play Sheffield this weekend!

[@Sach6251]

Xabi has played under some of the best managers, Jose Mourinho, Pep Guardiola, Vincent Del Bosque and prime Rafa Benitez 🔥 no wonder he is turning out to be a nice manager.

[@RashidHasanRafi-ru7fn]

This aged really well Jon McKenzie is the GOAT

[@chillingarenaa603]

I think he's dad was a coach at some point and he was coached by two best coaches with different coaching styles (Total Football and Counter Attack)

[@blackyiechan]

This analysis aged like the finest of wines 🍷

[@pakjai5532]

Football needs to have a Ballon Dor for thw coaches.

[@alexaboloma6283]

Xabi Alonso and Arteta may be the manager that eventually brings pep down. If not, I see pep dominating more for so many years, pep is such an intelligent tactician that keeps reinventing his tactics. From possession football to inverting fullbacks to false nine to using stones as midfield, pep has so much in his locker . Unlike mourinho, acceloti, conte and the other coaches that becomes stagnant with time. I believe city may even become the new Madrid in ucl if pep remains there

[@miguelporras8366]

Pep didnt invent any of that. He is great at adapting old tactics to modern football. Which is a great merit

[@nananou1687]

Uh no. None of the managers you've mentioned are stagnant, Carlo and Jose won European trophies very recently, Jose is practically one of the reasons of Reals current domination. People tend to be forgetful. But Pep has had a decade-long journey to European triumph himself.

[@nananou1687]

​@@miguelporras8366he is a fantastic manager. The comment debases Jose and Carlo, which is just sad.

[@miguelporras8366]

@@nananou1687 I know he is great. Just pointing out he didnt invent football doesnt diminish his merit. False full backs who turn into CM exists since Junior and Leandro. False 9 exists since Hidegkuti Nandor and the first who adapted that to modern football was Luciano Spalletti with Totti. Guardiola's dynamic build-up play from the back was invention of Ricardo La Volpe (something Guardiola himself recognized publicly). Turning a center back into defensive pivot was Sacchi's idea, which changed football. Sweeper-keepers exist since Hugo Gatti in Argentina, and it was established in Europe by Zdenek Zeman in Foggia and made famous by Cruyff But the man deserves immense accolades because he studied all that thoroughly, applied it in an entirely different context and synthethized it brilliantly

[@ITSFEDR]

Don’t forget about the impact Hlozek can make if he makes the squad on matchday, really underrated player Leverkusen have got on the team. Honestly needs to get more playing time, i believe his ceiling is higher than some more well known talent across the top5 leagues.

[@IamAndreThompson]

If I’m Liverpool please take a look at Xabi as Klopp’s successor

[@EmperorDraconianIV]

Alonso did not rush into management. He slowly built himself. He will coach Madrid or Barca one day.

[@yashpatel2414]

Petition to Bring back the POD!!!

[@nikolajmunk7885]

Quick tip, slow down your hands movement. Great content!

[@justinmikkola3309]

This title just grinds my gears. Football is so much more interesting than one team being the most interesting.

[@PikalWolfgangCoach]

Thanks tifo for ur great videos...love it.❤...pl can u tell me what software u use on screen..whant to it for my team..thanks and warm regards from bali,🙏🙏🙏👍

[@treyhenderson8827]

This video aged great!

[@haydencooper32]

What software do you use to show the payers and tactics.

[@ayell91]

Xabi has been a great friend of arteta since kids. They have pretty similar football intellect, probably will make them a world class manager one day.

[@chestersemaver]

Beautiful! Yet, I don’t wanna rain on your parade and undermine your very accurate analysis of B. Leverkusen but this is a very fast spreading trend especially among younger generation coaches, I believe. Speed up! Press them high up the pitch to shorten gain time. Deploy your up midfielders and fullbacks quickly to shorten defense to attack time around 2-3 seconds. While having the ball, make your players create contractions by running inside and out-wide. This way, your attacking deployment will gain numerical and tactical advantage in and around the opposition box. I don’t know if you would like to analyze other teams using similar parameters through Opta but you may wanna check Okan Buruk’s Galatasaray (among some others) who used the entire summer transfer window by focusing on the necessary players to play a similar game plan. Again, great analysis and good luck

[@mathiou111]

like for now, they are still on a incredible winning-streak and performing even better.

[@mattzmusicfreak]

I'd love to see an update on this. Clearly Bayer Leverkusen are performing well.

[@fbi578]

And even better yet now!

[@AyeHuman]

If you turn on the auto-generated close captions, there are some fun attempts to spell Leverkusen, never twice the same. Shabby Alonso is fun too.

[@princearthur5532]

They are playing such mesmerizing football ⚽

[@Mikehoncho2647]

Xabi has been so great for Leverkussen, the bundesliga, and german football. The problem is, madrid WILL come calling, and he will more than likely answer

[@RL-]

Probably an unpopular opinion, but Chelsea would have been better off signing Palacios than Caicedo. Argentine chemistry, superb ball retention and defending, and as he's not as mobile he'd suit being the holding mid more than Fernández. But he's more than comfortable defending higher up too. He also seems to have developed into one of the best dribblers in the world so he can Kovačić dance his way through pressure and progress the ball, which he's also better than Caicedo at, while offering more of a goal threat too. His playstyle seems to have changed since River Plate where he basically covered every blade of grass, and it's been quite interesting to watch.

[@akashpjames987]

When can we expect part 2?

[@t0nberry]

The longer Tifo avoids talking about Angeball, the more I'm expecting out of that eventual 1 hour episode breakdown...

[@TheSealDribble]

Wirtz is an absolute menace!

[@wahyusetiyo9682]

Xabi is the next Liverpool manager and win UCL again

[@choco-une]

Going to Madrid

[@sevi7301]

I agree with the video but that Xabi took them out if a relegation battle gets often overhyped by media and pundits. Yes leverkusen had really few points when he came in, but the numbers of games that they played until then actually show that they should have won most of the games that they lost. (Most of the time by far more shots and goals than the opponent) the thing was just that the team was supper young and inexoerienced last season, so they started to be insecure when they did not win those games. So all Xabi had to do is give them trust back and let them play the same way. What he did this season was really good though

[@giorgioelgar2272]

They considered having seb stafford blaw under a hat pulling john's hair when he was talking about german football but they couldn't find a big enough hat so they have a complex pupeteering srtup and he's telling john what to say through a mission impossible headset

[@Hieillua]

Good to see a former top player actually gradually building his managerial career. A lot of them really aren't suited for the job. They used to be great on their position and when they become a manager they are responsible for so much more. Former top players like Pirlo, Lampard and Gerrard showcased how being a former genius midfielder doesn't mean you'd be a great manager. They could read the game like no one else but as managers they are pretty weak. Not the greatest tactically and pretty mediocre man managers. Being a former top player doesn't mean you'd be a good tactician as a manager.

[@mohammadnazari-q9p]

The special one already predicted that Xabi would become a great coach one day

[@steve10]

It's OK using these tactics but you need the right players to do it. A fluid tactic needs fluid players. You need fullbacks who can attack like a winger and be good defenders , but they also need to fill in as a third central defender , so the right back attacks as the winger and the two central defenders shift across and the left back moves to be a third central defender. Defensive midfielders either need to shift back into central defence when both full backs are attacking , but they also need to be attacking midfielders to get on the end of crosses to just outside the box. Wingers need to be strikers and also help full backs defend. These tactics are great but they put a huge amount of workload on players , you need the right players to do it or be able to train younger players to function in different roles. If you don't have the right players and you keep going with these tactics , then you will get found out , tactics only work to the ability of the players. If Alonso can't get the players already at the club to adapt he could find it not working. In 10 years time players will easily adapt positions. It's interesting why managers didn't invest in training players to do multiple positional training 20 years ago, I remember wingers who couldn't defend , and they are still about now , it baffles me how central defenders still aren't adept and being in possession. Tactics are moving quicker than players adapting , which is why we see newer managers try them but fail

[@russellkelly8223]

Need one on Cercle Brugge next fantastic team so far and one of the youngest

[@MundoSportiva]

I was hoping it was Diniz’s Fluminense but Bayer is pretty cool too!

[@samlouback3161]

i absolutely love Xabi Alonso

[@aaanawaleh]

Could we see Alonso managing a superclub like Madrid in 5yrs time? Seems like he's only going up, exciting managerial future for him.

[@SMANDAL0852124]

You guys HAD TO release the video before the Bayern game , huh ?!!!!

[@gentleken7864]

I can't be the only one to watch this and think.....hey, Palacios? Isn't he really old considering he played for Spurs? Oh....not Wilson Palacios.......Wow! Frimpong....I'm sure Arsenal will be wanting him back if he's playing this well.....oh...not Emmanuel Frimpong then.

[@thedudetomorrow0002]

Exactly what Ten Hag wanted to do with United,but couldn't

[@gbrl433]

not enough talent - many players on leverkusen would start for united that being said their recruitment is a lot better

[@scientiaestpotentia2007]

This video led me to follow what was to become the first invincible season in German Bundesliga history.

[@nicodemusnickelodeon1412]

Well this aged well